Method of and means for increasing the efficiency of lithographic and analogous printing presses



J. G. GOEDIKE 2, NS FOR INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY 0 AND ANALOGOUSPRINTING PRESSES Feb, 1, 1944.

METHOD OF AND MEA LITHOGRAPHIC Filed Nov.

I ammonia n 110m 6. Goedi/r -:Patented Feb. 1, 1944 METHOD OF AND MEANSFOR INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF LITHOGRAPHIC AND ANALO GOUS PRINTINGPRESSES John G. Goedikc, Fort Sam Houston, Tex. Application November 19,1941, Serial No. 419,742

(Granted under the act of March 3,1883, as

12 Claims.

amended April 30, 192

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me ofany royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to the lithographic art, moreparticularly it is directed to an ink distributing system oflithographic and analogous printing presses.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a method of and meansfor increasing the efficiency of the ink distributing system oflithographic and analogous printing presses.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and means forproducing warm air adapted to contact with a roller section of an inkdistributing system of an offset lithographic press. to increase thetemperature of the roller section, thereby preventing ink from buildingor piling up on the rollers thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method of and means forheating the fluid used for dampening the printing plate surface oflithographic and analogous printing presses, which heated fluid istransmitted with a film of ink by the ink distributing system of thepress to the printing plate surface, thereby warming the ink andpermitting it to travel freely in a continuous fiow through the inkdistributing system to the printing plate surface.

The ink distributing roller system of offset lithographic and analogousprinting presses should smooth the ink out to a coating, that becomesmore even as it passes progressively from roller to roller in thesystem, whereby an even coating of ink is deposited on the ink sensitiveareas of a printing plate surface of the press, also all of theingredients in the ink should pass in a continuous flow from roller toroller of the ink distributing system and arrive at the printing platesurface. There-is a tendency on the part of certain of the rollers ofthe ink distributing system to become coated with ink, which ink coatingincreases in thickness as the operation of the press continues, untilthe coating becomes objectionable and destroys the even character'of theink film flowing to the printing plate surface.

It has been found that this condition in the ink distributing rollersystem of oflset lithographic and analogous printing presses is causedby certain-0f the rollers of the system beingv installed in such aposition on the press that it is Possible some of the rollers are a fewdegrees cooler than the other rollers of the system,

whereby'ink is caused to build or pile up on the cooler rollers. Thiscondition is caused by the .eii:

' building or piling nature of lithographic ink, which is generallycomposed of pigment for color, linseed varnish as a vehicle, stearicacid, gum mastic, lanolin and other wax substances which are oils abovetheir critical temperatures, but are solid below these temperatures.ground together in a reduce or thin this ink with solvents before being,7

used.

The ink may be warmed until it is thin as oil, and if a rod which hasbeen cooled is plunged into the ink and immediately withdrawn the rodwill become coated with the wax substances in the ink, therebyillustrating the action of the ink on a roller or rollers which arecooler than the other rollers in the ink distributing system of anofl'set lithographic or analogous printing press. Theink for the inkdistributing system of the press comes in a soft condition due to thesolvents which have been added thereto from a fountain to high speeddistributing rollers of the system. Some of the solvents are volatileand dissipate from the toprollers of the ink distributing system and asthe ink is distributed downwardly through the ink distributing system itthickens and the wax substances in the ink have a tendency to cling toand build up on any roller of the system.

It is therefore the aim and purpose of this invention to provide amethod of and means for increasing the temperature of certain of the inkdistributing rollers of offset lithographic and analogous printingpresses, which rollers are in such a position that they are cooler thanthe other rollers in the system, or in other words, to render thetemperature higher in these cooler rollers than in the other rollers ofthe system thereby eliminating the tendency of the mi: from up on thecooler rollers and destroying the even character of the ink filmtransmitted through the ink distributing system to the printing platesurface, also to warm the ink ,on the ink distributing roller system bymeans of a heated dampening fluid so that the ink will travel freely ina continuous flow through the system to the printing plate surface.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view the inventionconsists of certain features of construction and operation of partswhich will hereinafter appear.

In order that the invention may be readily understood reference is hadto the accompanying drawing, which is a diagrammatic view of a rotaryoffset lithographic press having the inven tion applied thereto.

Rotary ofiset lithographic presses vary in detail on different pressesand in the present instance the oifset lithographic press indicatedgenerally by A comprises a paper delivery cylinder or wheel i, animpression cylinder 2, a blanket cylinder 3, a plate cylinder 3 having alithographic plate surface 5 mounted thereon containing a design to beprinted, and an ink distributing system indicated generally by 1B.

The ink distributing system B comprises a ductor roller 6, which carriesink from an ink fountain roller 1 of the ink fountain 8, to a drum 9having distributing rollers l and a connecting roller H in contacttherewith. Riders l2 and I2 contact with the distributing rollers l0 andthe connecting roller ll contacts with a connecting roller l3, which inturn contacts with a drum l4, whereby ink is deposited on the drum M.The

ink on the drum I4 is conveyed to the plate 5,

on the plate cylinder 4 by means of duplicate sets of connectingdistributing rollers I5 and I5, storage rollers l6 and I6 and formrollers 11 and I1. A rider l8 contacts with the connecting rollers l3and [5.

A fluid or liquid such as water I!) which may be used in dampening theplate 5 on the plate cylinder 4 is contained within a trough or opencontainer having a heating element 2|, preferably of the electrical typeas illustrated, mounted thereon, which heating element 2| is connectedby conductors 22 to a suitable source of electrical supply (not shown)and is adapted to heat the water I9 in the trough 20. A water contactroller 23 revolves in the water trough 20 and is adapted to feed theheated water through connecting dampening rollers 24 and 24' to thestorage roller l6 from where it travels with a film of ink through theink distributing system to the form rollers l1 and H which deposit theink and water on the plate 5. The heated water as it travels with thefilm of ink through the ink distributing system B to the plate 5, willwarm the ink for melting or softening the wax substances, so that itwill freely travel in a continuous flow to the plate.

In the present offset press design certain rollers of a portion of theink distributing system are placed in such a position on the press thata condition exists where the rollers normally run at a temperature lowerthan the balance of the ink distributing system. The roller portion ofthe distributing system normally running at a lower temperature isindicated generally by C and comprises the connecting dampening rollers24 and 24, storage roller l6, connecting rollers ll, l3.and [5, metalrider l8, drums 9 and Hi, distributing rollers l0 and riders l2 and i2.

Upon heating the water IS, the rollers of the distributing portion C arecaused to be affected by warm air ascending upwardly as indicated by thearrows, from the water trough 20, whereby the temperature of the rollersof the distributing portion C is increased, thus eliminating thepossibility of the wax substances in the ink from building up thereon.

A portion indicated generally by D of the ink distributing system isplaced in a position away from the portion C of the ink distributingsysassume tem and therefore is not affected by the warm air arising fromthe heated water it in the trough 2d. The portion D comprises connectingroller i5, storage roller is and the form rollers it and H, which formrollers El and H are positioned too low to be affected by the warm airfrom the heated water it and therefore remain cool. 1

As the entire ink distributing system B revolves in the direction asindicated by the arrows, the film of heated water covers the entiresurface of the ink distributing system, which is completely charged withink including the form rollers ll and ii, that apply ink to the designrepresented by the ink sensitive areas on the plate and dampen the platewith the heated water.

It will thus be seen that there is herein provided a novel and efficientmethod of and means for preventing ink from building up on certainrollers of the ink distributing system of lithographic and analogousprinting presses, also which simultaneously distributes the mutuallyrepellant substances, ink of a greasy nature and heated water to alithographic or photolitho offset plate surface by an arrangement ofrollers in actual Contact, with the rollers in the system being subjectto various arrangements. Even though there has herein' been describedand shown certain features of construction and operation of parts, it isnevertheless to be understood that various'changes may be made thereinif the changes do not depart from the spirit or scope of the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. The method of causing ink to flow freely through an ink distributingportion operating at a certain temperature to another ink distributingportion operating at a higher temperature or lithographic and analogousprinting presses which consists of heating water and causing warm moistair from said heated water to ascend upwardly into contact with thefirst-mentioned ink distributing portion for increasing the temperaturethereof above the temperature of the second-mentioned ink distributingportion, whereby the ink is heated and softened to cause it to flowfreely without piling upon the first-mentioned ink distributing portion.

2. The method of causing ink to flow freely from an ink distributingportion operating at a certain temperature to another ink distributingportion operating at a higher temperature of lithographic and analogousprinting presses,

I which consists of heating water, transmitting the heated Water intocontact with the first-mentioned ink distributing portion and causingwarm moist air from said heated water to ascend upwardly into contactwith said first mentioned ink distributing portion for increasing thetemperature thereof above the second mentioned ink distributing portionwhereby the ink is heated and softened to cause it to flow freelywithout piling up thereon.

3. The method of simultaneously inking and dampening the printingsurfaces of lithographic and analogous printing members which consistsof heating a dampening fluid. transmitting said heated dampening fluidwith a film of ink through an ink distributing system to a printingsurface,- thus warming said film of ink and causing it to pass freely ina continuous flow together with a film of dampening fluid to saidprinting surface, whereby an ink repellant coating of dampening fluidwill be applied to the nondesign portions of a printing surface and inkwill be applied to the design portions of said surface.

- 4. The method of preventing ink from piling up on an ink distributingsystem of lithographic and analogous printing presses, which consists ofheating water and directly contacting the heated water with the ink onthe ink distributing system thereby heating the ink and causing it toflow freely without piling.

5. The method of preventing ink from piling up on an ink distributingsystem of lithographic and analogous printing presses, which consists ofheating water, directly contacting the heated water with the ink on theink distributing system, and causing warm air from'the heated water todirectly contact with the ink distributing system thereby heating andsoftening the ink and causing it to flow freely without piling.

6. The method of simultaneously inking and dampening the printingsurfaces of lithographic and analogous printing presses, which consistsof heating a dampening fluid, directly contacting the heated dampeningfluid with a film of ink on the ink distributing system, andtransmitting the heated dampening fluid with the film of ink through theink distributing system to a printing surface thus warming the film ofink and causing it to pass freely in a continuous flow, together withthe film of dampening fluid, to the printing surface whereby anink-repella'nt coating of dampening fluid will be applied to thenon-design portions of the printing surface and ink will be applied tothe design portions of said surface.

7. The method of simultaneously inking and dampening the printingsurfaces of lithographic and analogous printing presses, which consistsof heating a dampening fluid, directly contacting the heated dampeningfluid with a film of ink on the ink distributing system, causing warmair from the heated dampening fluid to directly contact the inkdistributing system, and transmitting the heated dampening fluid with afilm of ink through the ink distributing system, thus warming the filmof ink and causing it to pass freely in a continuous flow together witha film of dampening fluid to the printing surface whereby anink-repellant coating of dampening fluid will be applied to thenon-design portions of the printing surface and ink will be applied tothe design portions of said surface.

8. In a printing press, the combination of a printing member, an inkdistributing system adapted to transmit a film of ink to said printingmember, a container-adapted to hold a liquid, means adapted to transmitthe liquid from said container to the film of ink, on said inkdistributing system and means associated with the container for heatingthe liquid whereby the film of'ink is heated and softened by the heatedliquid and caused to flow freely without building up on the inkdistributing system.

9. In a printing press, the combination of a printing member, an inkdistributing system adaptedto transmit a film of ink to said printingmember, an open container adapted to hold a liquid, means adapted totransmit the liquid in said container to said ink distributing system,electrical means associated with the container and adapted to heat theliquid therein to cause warm air from the heated liquid to contact withthe ink distributing system for increasing the temperature thereof,whereby the film of ink is heated and softened by the heated liquid andwarm air therefrom thus causing the film of ink to flow freely withoutpiling up on the ink distributing system.

10. In a printing press, the combination of a printing member, an inkdistributing system including ink distributing portions adapted totransmit a film of ink to said printing member, one of said inkdistributing portions normally operating at a temperature lower than theternperature of another of said ink distributing portions, a containeradapted to hold a fluid, means adapted to transmit the fluid from saidcontainer into contacting engagement with the film of ink on said firstmentioned ink distributing portion, means associated with the containerand adapted to heat the fluid therein for increasing the temperature ofthe first mentioned ink distributing portion above the temperature ofthe second mentioned ink distributing portion whereby the film of inkwill be heated and softened to flow freely through the ink distributingsystem without piling up thereon. I

11. In a printing press, the combination of a printing member, an inkdistributing system including ink distributing portions adapted totransmit a film of ink to said printing member, one of said inkdistributing portions normally operating at a temperature lower than thetemperature of another of said ink distributing portions, an opencontainer adapted to hold a fluid, means adapted to transmit the fluidfrom said container to the film of ink on said ink distributing system,means associated with the container and adapted to heat the fluidtherein, said open container positioned to cause the first mentioned inkdistributing portion to be contacted by the warmair from the heatedfluid for increasing the temperature of the first mentioned inkdistributing portion above the temperature of the second mentioned inkdistributing portion whereby the film of ink will be heated and softenedto flow freely throuhg the ink distributing system without piling upthereon 12. In a printing press, the combination of a printing member,an ink distributing system including ink distributing portions andadapted to transmit a film of ink to said printing member, one of saidink distributing portions normally operating at a temperature lower thanthe temperature of another of said ink distributing portions, an opencontainer adapted to hold a fluid,

means adapted to transmit the fluid from said container into contactingengagement with the film of ink on the first mentioned ink distributingportion, electrical means associated with the container and adapted toheat the fluid therein, said container positioned to cause warm air fromthe heated fluid to contact with the first mentioned ink distributingportion to increase the temperature thereof above the second mentionedink distributing portion whereby the film of ink on the first mentionedportion is heated and softened to flow freely from the first mentionedink distribut ing portion to the second mentioned ink distributingportion without piling up thereon.

JOHN G. GOEDIKE.

